Choosing Wedding Shoes: Bridal Shoe Shopping Tips
Simultaneously, your wedding day will be both the most wonderful and the most exhausting day of your life.
From sunup to sundown, you’ll be on your feet: prepping for the wedding, trekking all over taking pictures, meeting well-wishers and relatives at the reception, and don’t forget dancing.
Your feet can really take a beating with the wrong wedding shoes. All the same, you’d rather avoid the bulky “orthopedic shoe” look and sacrifice style for comfort. Use the following bridal shoe shopping tips to pick a perfect pair that blends both fashion and function
Heel Height for Mormon Wedding Shoes
Generally speaking, the right height for LDS wedding shoes is whatever height heel you are already comfortable with wearing. The typical modest heel is about 2” to 2.5” high, but shorter and taller heels are commonly seen.
You shouldn’t buy your actual wedding shoes until after you’ve purchased your dress, but you should know the approximate heel height you’ll choose so you can wear similar-sized heels when you go dress shopping. And it’s a good idea to buy shoes in the late afternoon when your feet are a little bigger than in the morning; this will help ensure a better fit for the long day on your feet.
Styles and Materials of Bridal Shoes
The traditional bridal shoe is made of either silk or satin, but in recent decades brides are branching out and trying all sorts of different materials. Bridal shoes can be open toe or closed toe, strappy sandals or mules, ballet flats or stilettos. They can be fairly plain or decorated to the nines with beading, lace, or other embellishments.
As a general rule most brides choose plain shoes with a more elaborate dress, and more elaborate shoes with a plain dress. If both the dress and the shoes will have adornment or decoration, see that the beading or lace on the shoes closely matches the embellishments on the wedding gown.
In the past, wedding shoes were usually buried beneath a sweeping floor-length gown, but now a lot of brides are really showcasing their shoes with tea length and ballerina length skirts. If you choose a shorter dress, realize that they will put your wedding shoes front and center on the big day.
Some brides choose formal shoes for the pictures and ceremony, then change into more comfortable white flip-flops, sandals, or ballet flats for the reception. It’s certainly easier to dance in a more casual style of shoe.
After You’ve Bought the Perfect Wedding Footwear
Ideally, you should have the actual shoes in your possession by your final fitting. Wearing them will ensure that you can get the hem of your dress done exactly right.
At home in the weeks before the wedding, start breaking in your shoes by wearing them around the house for a few hours at a time. Many brides also scuff the soles of their shoes with sandpaper to give them more traction on slippery surfaces and dance floors at the reception.
Your wedding day ensemble includes a lot more than just your bridal gown. Perhaps the most important (and most understated) aspect of what you’ll be wearing on your wedding day is your shoes. When buying your shoes, remember not only your personal taste but the style of your wedding gown, and don’t forget to break them in before the wedding day to avoid unexpected surprises.
♥ Jenny Evans
Exclusively for WeddingLDS.com
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